Mighty in Contradiction: Love Powerfully

 To me,the opposite of love is ego, the false self.  Power as I see it, is that feeling we get from time to time when we are one with our sense of Source, and realize that everyone else has freedom to connect with this Universal Source too.  And the fact that from time to time I or any of us pinches ourselves off from Source, It never leaves us, we may just be temporarily turned away from It.   The false self, ego, is that foolish part of us that believes scarcity predominates, that this lifetime is the end all and be all.  When we are forgetting that well-being is the basis of the canvass we're creating on, we behave in some ugly ways.  Then we mistake our power with the need to grasp control and manipulate circumstances.  But while I believe that Love has an essence of humility about it, It rightly knows itself as the true and perennial Power that governs the Universe.  How to tap in?  Begin by slowing down the chatter of our thoughts, plans, recollections.  Get quiet, and then notice--when the moment feels calmer, better, that you yourself have tapped in a bit.  With this realization, that by simply focusing on a slowing down, a reaching for slight improvement of our feeling, we have achieved it, we begin to notice our power is an aspect of The Power we can tap into.  It may be that the deliberate effort to relax into incremental levels of "faith", is how we learn unconditional Love.  There is no need for judgment when we're out of alignment with Source, for though we certainly don't like the feeling, the contrast of uncomfortable feelings, even pain, provides us with the impetus to close the gap, i.e. rejoin with Source.  It is this closing of the gap that is our Joy, our Power, and the reason life is eternal beyond our own physical lifetime. Hide full comment

This passage made me wonder what the biggest contradiction of my life was. After the meditation, it became clear. "I" am the biggest contradiction. At a deeper level, we are an undifferentiated whole, and this undifferentiated whole finds no meaning without "I." The "I," funnily enough, finds no meaning unless it goes back toward realizing it is a part of the undifferentiated whole. What a contradiction!

I was reminded of a wise monk who, over a hundred years back, reflected on the human condition and refused to think of it as an illusion (the usual translation for maya). Instead, he emphasized that it is a contradiction. Thinking about the difference b/w these two words, it seems to me that illusion is a condition we can find ourselves helplessly facing. Contradiction is created in our minds due to the lines we've drawn on the undifferentiated whole. In other words, contradiction is about decisions we make, and so, if we draw lines differently, we can always go to a plane where the contradictions don't exist. The path of waking up seems to be one of drawing fewer and fewer lines, and therefore, facing fewer and fewer contradictions.

Finally, the notion of love as a tool to break contradictions resonated with me. Love, if one were to look at it scientifically, gets us to forget the lines we've drawn, however momentarily. The moment we forget the lines, we also forget the contradictions that arose from those lines, and therefore, experience greater oneness with the undifferentiated whole. 

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The article made me think of the quote by Jimi Hendrix: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will be at peace.”

I know there are songs about the Power of Love and giving love/give yourself (ego, identity) away.

The circle of sharing included people sharing different opposites to the word love (which is truly unconditional, unbiased, and all encompassing/embracing/universal): hate, ambivalence, indifference, fear, judgment, partiality, antipathy (a strongly negative feeling, opposite of empathy/sympathy, acceptance—feeling for others, compassion in action), no love. 

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”  --Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Love being without borders, lines, boundaries, walls and whole (greater than/transcends the sum of its parts) connects to a side project I have been thinking of pursuing (can share more in person with those interested).

I think of the phrase: “may the force be with you” from Star Wars.  Imagine a worldwide movement, which I feel this is a part of, led proactively through/in love, and not all the defensive struggles that are occurring more commonly.

Nipun touched on his assessment of the words: Power (ego) and force (selfless service, which anyone can tap into) and mentioned a book, called Power versus Force.

It’s a great honor and privilege to meet with such brave and inspiring souls: “A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. “ --Mohandas K. Gandhi

Neil mentioned some stories, including one about a child who is scared of the wicked witch and a caretaker reaching out to her at her level by giving her a glass of water to throw on the witch, for in case she would need it. 

Bhoutik & Viral touched on Tough Love, in teen years (below age 20)…  ;)

Tobias shared through visual imagery about a business model centered around love, where love is the target/”bull’s eye” and with concentric circles around it, working for pay/to get paid to provide in the spirit of love for loved ones, and the outermost circle also being love.

The passage also reminded me of subverting the dominant paradigm and creating a new one: “Ultimately the creation of a new paradigm in the contemporary society is not about putting the right kind of people in power, but the right kind of power in people.”  --Michael Nagler

Relates to Einstein’s quote: “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”  An Image

One can reflect on this at times of election with fresh, new thinking, new ways of doing things, and working towards common/universal visions.

One person shared his experience on airplanes.  It reminded me of this clip, worth watching for a good laugh.

And a friend’s recent experience:

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